Chris Kluwe was a fucking punter, and he got run out of the league for being outspoken on social issues.

You can speak your mind or you can punt to Devin Hester, you can't do both.

_________________

There was nothing out of control about that column.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Kaepernick is a free agent because he sucks. He is demanding $9-10MM and a starter role to sign. He isn't worth that. The only success he ever had in the NFL is probably attributable to Harbaugh and not him.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

I bet his dumbass regrets opting out and passing up 14 million this year, I don't blame teams for taking a pass on him, he's become a distraction and nobody wants a distraction in their locker room.

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Kaep will be waiting for the Romo and Cutler dominoes to fall before he gets signed. They are both better than he is. Further, teams probably view him as a marginal starter to back up QB at this point which means he may need to wait until after the draft to see if teams draft a QB before he finds a team.

He's better than Cutty, he's better than Buttfumble and a bunch of other guys too.

_________________

Original title for 'Jerry Was a Race Car Driver'.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

Yeah, the idea that NFL teams will sign anybody just isn't true any longer. If talent was all that mattered, Greg Hardy would be on a NFL roster right now.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

If your play outweighs your baggage then yes they will sign you. However, if you are just barely worthy of playing and haven't had success since your last coach left, then no you won't be sticking around. I think most of his success was Jim Harbaugh.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

I don't think Greg Hardy forgot how to play football in the last three years. He has considerable talent.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

but he was after some horrific actions

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

You can't impact a game while on suspension

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

jay cutler is a way better QB. WAAAYYY better. And Jay Cutler sucks.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

It's jargon-filled speculation that blames racism for Kaepernick not having a job. It's Bill O'Reilly war on Christmas style red meat for the other side.

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

You have to excuse FF. Due to the many things that happened to him he has these issues on some subjects.

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Elections have consequences.

What issues? Looking at something objectively? I think it's pretty reasonable to say that Kaepernick is good enough to play in the NFL and is being blackballed because he will be perceived as a distraction. There are MANY worse QBs than him currently employed by the league.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

You know I love to tweak you in a friendly manner and its Friday.

_________________
Elections have consequences.

First of all Kaepernick is no hero. He quit his protest as soon as it potentially could cost him money. Secondly, there are reports he wants $10 million per year. If that's the case he his pricing himself out of being a back-up.

I did not watch him last year other than the Bears game, and it was the worst performance I've ever seen from a quarterback. Everyone cites his statistics, and he got some decent numbers playing catch-up while his team lost every game he started. If he is willing to be a cheap back-up he will get a job somewhere.

If you want to believe that racism is the only reason he doesn't have a job in a league that is majority black then we are past the point where facts can persuade you.

_________________
Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

Isn't he like an option QB or something? How many of those offenses exist?

_________________
Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

First of all, we don't need to bring strawmans in here. Nobody is calling him a hero. I don't really put much stock into unconfirmed reports. I agree that if that is true then it's reasonable he is not signed yet. The discussion in this thread has centered around if he is even good enough to make a team as a backup or third stringer.

You guys are bringing racism up way more than I am here. It's fair to say that owners/GMs don't like his politics and think he will be a distraction and don't want him for those reasons even if he is better than their current backup. That's not the same as saying they are racist. You, Bob, mike, and others seem to want me to make this about race. I haven't mentioned race once in this entire thread.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

First, I never discussed race in regards to him. I said he would be a good backup on the Steelers. Second, it is strawmen. Third, most here have said he should not be a starter and not that he can't be a backup. It was also said that it is no surprise that all the backups for next season have not been signed already. Lastly, he may not be signed as a backup because he is waiting for a better option.

_________________
Elections have consequences.

Bomani Jones brought in racism in the article you said was not over the top. It could be that some owners do not like Kaepernick, but I don't think that any of them are going to go against their self-interest if they thought he could win games and make money for them. And Kaepernick has been called a hero by many media cheerleaders.

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

There's a difference between winning games and making money for them. My guess is that signing Kaepernick won't affect their bottom line at all. This is where I will go back to the Greg Hardy comparison, even though he's clearly a terrible human being and Kaep doesn't seem like he is. Hardy is proof that the NFL isn't a meritocracy based on talent, which is what MANY seem to believe.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Except Dallas brought Hardy back, and he was a pain in the ass and not that productive. If he was a dominant Pro Bowler they would probably put up with him.

_________________
Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

6 sacks, a FF, and a INT in 12 games isn't bad at all. It certainly suggests there is enough talent to be a starting player in the league, as does his 40 sacks in 75 career games. Him being a pain in the ass isn't really relevant if we are discussing if the NFL is a meritocracy.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

That stat line looks like our very own Floyd.

_________________
Elections have consequences.

Again, he doesn't have a job because teams would rather have Romo or Cutler as their QB, than him. He is #3 on the possible starter QB list. So, unless he just tells a team he will take $5M and a backup job, he would not have signed a contract by now.

The only person blackballing Kaep is Kaep's agent right now while he waits to get him the best deal he can.

It's not bad, but if you are being disruptive and not listening to coaches then stats alone aren't going to save you. The merit in the NFL is wins, and if teams think that you are so disruptive that it outweighs your talent then you are not going to be signed. Additionally, Hardy is seen as a someone who is not reliable and likely to be suspended or in trouble. I don't think that it's an apt comparison.

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

I don't disagree with any of that, but all you are doing is reinforcing my statement that the NFL is not a meritocracy. As I said, many people seem to think it is.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul